Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1887-11-26

laTge part Oh TIE populalloh ol every
country that produce nothing but
consume the best of everything, and
must be kept at the expense of the
laborer, the mechanic, and the
farmer.
1t is nearly time we had change
in this regard at least. In the sup
port Of these men, the expenditure
Of time, labor, and material that is
wasted is enormous, appalling and
beyond belief. The number of men,
with what they use and consume,
might better be dumped into the
ocean, and the world be happier,
wealthier, and wiser for the loss.
Another great waste of society Is
in the superabundance of distribu-
tors and the system Of distribution.
There are at least fifty stores for
every one that is necess ry;
in other words, there are
ninety-eight per cent. more distrib
uting depots than there is any ne
cesslty for, and almost the same
waste of time, labor and material in
the employment Of clerks, porters,
horses, wagons. fixtures, houses, and
machinery. With governmental CO.
operation, all waste in the depart
ment of distribution would be
abolished.
At present there is no system; every
one seems to go it blind.
Twenty different milkmen leave milk
at twenty different families in the same
block, and these anne milkmen have to
drive all over the city, with great waste
of time, labor and material, to hunt their
customers. The grocer, the butcher,
the baker, and other distributors are
compelled to do the same thing at an
| enormous and useless expense. Under
our system there would be depots of sup
| ply in every square or district, with
| goods of uniform excellence, free from
| adulteration, full weight and measure,
| so that there need be no choice on the
| part of the consumer on the score of
friendship, the price, quality, or quan-
| tty, desired. Thus, at least, wo-thirds
of the time, labor and operating material
now necessary would be sufficient to do
| the same work better, cheaper, quicker
and more satisfactory in every partlcu-
| lar.
If each letter carrier, on going to the
| postof1ice in the morning, were to fill his
bag out of a heap of unsorted letters
and start out to deliver them all over
| the city to their proper addresses, it
would take him whole day to deliver
| fifty or one hundred letters, which he
can do now in an hour or less with
greater promptness and certainty, to say
nothing of the saving in time, labor and
material.
By proper organization, system and
discipline, a similar saving might be
made in every department of distribu-
| ton
A similar saving might be duplicated
in every department of production and
by IA proper division of labor the force
now required to produce given result
could he made to yield ten times greater.
The division of labor has been very
highly developed already by large manu-
tacturers, with best results to themselves
but frought with the direst evil to the
employees, of whom it makes automa-
tons or machine tenders. Division of la
Dor should be introduced into every de-
partment where practical, and the say
ing of time, energy and muscle should
go to the producer-to the worker-not
to a capitalistic loafer who is successful
in getting or stealing money enough to
buy machinery and employ slaves All
this economy in production and distri-
button should be utilized for the benefit
of all, for the shortening of the hours OF
labor; in fact, for the abolition of labor
or toll; for the making of all happier.
And here, allow me to say, that toll,
hard labor-drudgery-is degrading, is
dishonorable, is debasing, loud-mouthed
politicians and demagogues to the con
trary Notwithstanding. A horny hand
is no badge of nobility, it is the mark
token, and sign of baseness; a stopped
back and halting gait, from toll, is no
evidence of respectablity, intelligence,
and freedom; it is the visible and tangl
ble brand of slavery. We do not despse
or blame the slave we pity, and woulC
teach him to be free.